NBA Finals | Warriors complete sweep of Cavaliers for title

Friday

LeBron James witnessed the final four minutes and two seconds of this season, and possibly his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, wind down from the bench.

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called timeout so he could take James out of the game, and the sellout crowd of 20,562 inside Quicken Loans Arena could shower him with the standing ovation and chants of “MVP! MVP! MVP!” that they did.

Soon after, the inevitable happened. The Golden State Warriors rushed the court after their 108-85 Game 4 victory and celebrated their third NBA championship in four years – all against James’ Cavs.

James had 23 points (7-for-13 shooting), eight assists and seven rebounds in this blowout that was settled by yet another dominant third quarter from the Warriors, who started the fourth leading by 21 points and pushed their lead to 28.

An emotionally and physically exhausted James, who teammate Jeff Green said “put us on his back and got us to the Finals,” took just three shots in the second half. In a silent Cavs dressing room afterward, James sat at his locker with his feet soaking in a bucket of ice water, headphones on and a towel over his head.

His right hand was wrapped in ice.

When he arrived for his postgame presser with a black brace/soft cast on his right hand that matched the ballcap pulled down low, it was revealed why.

James confirmed the news ESPN had first reported minutes earlier. He had “pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand” – the result of a “self-inflicted” injury sustained after the Game 1 overtime loss at Golden State.

Upset that a precious opportunity had slipped away, James punched a blackboard in the locker room. He had kept quiet about the injury to prevent the Warriors from knowing.

“I let the emotions get the best of me,” James conceded.

James, who can opt out of his contract and leave as a free agent this summer, was asked whether he’d played his last game in a Cavs uniform.

“I mean, I have no idea at this point,” he said.

The Warriors’ sweep of the Cavs – the first Finals sweep since the San Antonio Spurs won four in a row against James’ Cavs in 2007 – didn’t help the Cavs’ cause in their quest to keep him.

And the final impression Friday seemed to validate the argument that James doesn’t have a supporting cast strong enough to win another title in Cleveland.

Kevin Love scored four points in the final three quarters and finished with 13 points (4-for-13 shooting) and nine rebounds. George Hill had three points, one assist and missed six of his seven shots. Rodney Hood, who had provided a surprising spark in Game 3, was 4-for-14.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry bounced back from an 11-point performance Wednesday to score 37 Friday. Kevin Durant, who was named Finals most valuable player for the second consecutive year, posted 20 points.

“Bottom line is we’ve got a lot of talent,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We had more talent than they did, and talent wins in this league.”

The fact that the Cavs even made it this far, Kerr said, “surprised me” considering what he saw from them in the regular season. “It didn’t look like they were going to have enough.

“But what [coach Tyronn Lue] did with his group, and obviously what LeBron does night after night is just incredible,” Kerr added. “They had an amazing run.”

Said Lue of his players, “They stuck with it. Never gave in. We had plenty of opportunities to fold and we didn’t.”

For much of the first half, it appeared the Cavs could send this series back to California. But then the Warriors closed the first half with a 19-9 run after James had given the Cavs their third lead of the night.

Curry’s 3-pointer with five seconds left sent them into the locker room with a 61-52 lead. They came out and scored the first six points of the second half, and the Cavs’ frustration became visible in their body language.

Even the fans of “Believe-Land,” who had seen their Cavs rally from a 3-1 series deficit two years ago against the Warriors and capture the franchise’s first championship, stopped believing.

Instead, they booed – their own team – as the end of the third quarter approached. The Warriors outscored the Cavs 25-13 during those decisive 12 minutes.

“The game kind of got away from us,” Hood said. “We had a few turnovers, missed shots, and they went on a run. It’s hard to bounce back from there.”

Hill lamented the endings of Games 1 and 3 – two games the Cavs could have won.

“In that case, it would be 2-2 right now,” Hill said. “There was some big-time moments for us where we didn’t take advantage of them.”

James said he took no consolation in reaching the Finals. He has now lost six of the nine times he has reached this point. Yet, “he’s terrifying” to prepare for and play against, Kerr said.

“Maybe the greatest testament to LeBron is that five years ago, he was one of the top five players of all time,” Kerr said. “From five years ago until now, it seems like he’s 10 times better, because he’s added so much skill to his game.

“I get asked all the time about MJ [Michael Jordan] and LeBron, and it’s such a difficult question to ask,” he continued. “All I know is they’re the two best players that I’ve ever witnessed. They’ve very different, but however you want to rank them, they’re right there together.”

Once again, though, James couldn’t manage to close the gap on the one stat that separates them – championships.

sgorten@dispatch.com

@sgorten

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